Although containing large stretches of the archetypal Dutch polder landscape, the area is one of the country's primary economic powerhouses, focusing mostly on financial services and logistics. Partly because a large part of the area, the Haarlemmermeer polder, was a lake until 1852, there is relatively little old architecture.

From Schiphol, you can take the train to the north, to Amsterdam, or to the south, to Hoofddorp, Nieuw-Vennep and further to Leiden. Also, there are many buses services, including ones to Haarlem, Amstelveen and Uithoorn.